• My Linh touches gold at world bodybuilding champ

Lam, who performed impressively in the qualifying round, defeated strong rivals from 45 countries to take the title.

It is the first ever world gold medal of the HCM City-based bodybuilder who has already triumphed in the Asian and regional tournaments.

At the world championships organised by the World Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Federation two years ago in the United Arab Emirates, Lam won the bronze medal in the same category.

At the World and Asian Bodybuilding Championships in Thailand last month, Lam also pocketed a bronze medal in the Asian class.

Meanwhile, crowd favourite Pham Van Mach from An Giang, world champion in 2009 and 2010 in the men's 60kg category, failed to win a medal in Malaysia.

The medals this year went to bodybuilders from Thailand, Malaysia and Myanmar, respectively.

At the World and Asian Bodybuilding Championships in Thailand, Mach won a gold medal in the Asian men's 55kg pool.